Got grapes? Make jelly!

A bowl of freshly-picked green and purple grapes will make delicious jelly.

Just outside my office window is a pergola loaded with grape vines. The view from my computer chair could be on the western slope of Colorado, northern California or a vineyard in Italy.

Two weeks ago these vines were heavy with grapes. Plump little orbs bursting with mouth-watering sweet-tart juiciness. The squirrels noticed them, too, and I was lucky to realize it in time. The scavenging little varmints ate more than their share of the sweetest green ones, leaving me to hunt for the few that they left behind. Luckily they didn’t seem to like the purple ones as much, so there were plenty of those to toss into my harvest bucket.

As I mentioned in my last post, I ended up with a pretty hefty grape harvest, and used my brand new juicer to turn about 10 pounds of grapes into two pitchers of amazingly delicious grape juice.

Now for the fun part: fresh grape jelly.

You’ve never tasted anything like a peanut butter & jelly sandwich made with fresh grape jelly. Like a glass of fine wine, it’s worth savoring.

Making jelly isn’t difficult but it is time-consuming, so pick a day when you have nothing else going on. Clean your kitchen, open the blinds, put on some music and enjoy yourself. And wear an apron — you’re going to get messy.

I’m going to pare down the instructions for you here, but for complete, detailed instructions, please visit the site.

Here’s what you will need: (Most grocery stores carry canning supplies, as well as Ace Hardware, Wal-Mart and Target.)

Hardware:
Jelly jars and lids with rings (lids can only be used once) A large, deep stock pot or canner Two more good-sized pots, one for cooking the juice and one for boiling the lids.
A jar-grabber to lift the jars out of the boiling water A canning funnel (optional, but makes filling the jars easier) Magnetic lid lifter or tongs for removing lids from boiling water

Ingredients:
Fresh grapes, about 5 lbs., condensed into about 5 cups of juice. (I used a juicer but you can also mash, cook and strain to get the juice.)

Sugar (2¼ cups)

Pectin (Regular pectin, about 9 tablespoons)

Note: The amount of pectin and sugar is the tricky part of the recipe. Basically, sugar and pectin are is what thickens the juice mixture. If you use no-sugar pectin, you can use less sugar and if you use regular pectin, the recipe calls for more sugar. I found that with only about 2 cups of sugar, the jelly tasted perfect and I didn’t want it any sweeter. This meant that I had to add more pectin, by the spoonful, until the desired thickness was reached.)

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If you don't have a juicer, strain crushed, cooked grapes through cheesecloth overnight to collect the grape juice.

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The jar lids and bands are boiled and resting in hot water.

1. Sterilize jars either by boiling or running through the dishwasher. Do this just before you are going to make the jelly, so the jars are still hot when you put jelly into them.

2. Fill a glass with ice water and set a spoon in it. This is how you will test the jelly for thickness.

3. Sterilize the lids and bands by boiling them, fully covered in water for 5 minutes, then lower the heat and keep them warm until ready to use.

4. Get your canner ready. Fill the large, deep pot with water and bring to a boil. This is where you will place the filled jars to process.

5. Mix 2 tablespoons of pectin with ¼ cup of sugar and set aside. Have the rest of the sugar and pectin handy to add while the juice is boiling.

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Cooked grape juice thickened after the pectin and sugar are added.

6. Add the juice to the pot and cook on medium-high until hot but not boiling. Once juice is hot, add the mixture of pectin and ¼ cup sugar. Stir and bring mixture to a full boil. Add the rest of the pectin and sugar, stirring to dissolve and bring to a full boil for one minute. At this point you want to test the thickness of your jelly. Take the spoon from the ice water and dip into the mixture, getting about ½ a spoonful. Let it cool to room temperature and see how much it thickens. If it is to your liking, then you are done and can fill the jars. If it’s too runny, add more pectin, by the tablespoon, and bring to a boil for one minute. Do the spoon test again.

7. When your jelly tests as thick as you want it, get ready to fill the jars. Ladle the mixture into each jar, wiping up any spillage as you go. Fill each jar within ¼ inch from the top of the jar. Once all the jars are filled, remove your lids and rings from the hot water, pat dry and place the lids on the jars. Tighten the rings only finger-tight. Don’t over-tighten.

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Jars filled with fresh, hot grape jelly.

8. Now, place the jars into the deep pot or canner, making sure they are covered with at least an inch of water. Bring to a full boil and time them for 10 minutes. Once the time is up, pull them out of the water using the jar lifter and set them in a draft-free spot to cool. (usually overnight.)

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The filled jars are processed in boiling water for 10 minutes.

9. As the jelly cools, the little pop-up dimple on top of the lids will suck itself in and make a “pop.” This means that the seal is good and your jelly can be stored for up to 12 months. If one or two jars don’t seal properly, just remove the lid, put on a new one and process again (or call them freezer jelly – and use them within the year).

Becky Hensley is the co-founder of Share Denver - a community craft space in Park Hill. She's also the proud Ninja-in Chief of the Denver Craft Ninjas -- a women’s crafting collective dedicated to keeping the DIY spirit alive through laughter, shared skills, and cocktails.

Colorado native Mark Montano is an international designer, artist, author and television personality. He has appeared on TLC’s “While You Were Out” and “10 Years Younger,” as well as “My Celebrity Home” on the Style Network, “She’s Moving In” on We TV, “The Tony Danza Show” on ABC, and “My Home 2.0” on Fox.